Runner

I've been running at the rink for a whole year now...does that mean I can officially call myself a "runner"?? I go through bouts of thinking that it's not a big deal...ie. when I talk to my friends who run an hour every morning, or just finished a marathon. And then there are others who tell me they just made it through 5 km in under an hour. It takes me 28 minutes to do 4.5km and then I walk a bit at the beginning and end to make it 5km. I go at least twice a week. I find it so much easier than it was a year ago, and my joints are feeling stronger, especially my knees. I was going to calculate how many km I've run if I averaged 10km a week....hmmmm....lots. I'll do the math later.

I got spoiled with our gorgeous fall and started running outdoors. Now the frost is out and I have to be back inside, but at least there is somewhere to go that is free. I was dodging hockey pucks yesterday afternoon, but typically it is quiet at the rink. The scale hasn't budged for me much lately, but I'm still down the 8 that I had lost over the year. I think I am gaining more muscle still and need to work on eating less. :P I've been in a great water running class as well that ends tomorrow. Then it'll be on to something new. Speaking of running...time to run get the kids!

10 good reasons to rearrange your furniture

I told my hubby that I would write a blog post today about "10 good reasons to rearrange furniture". So here I am. If you're like me, and came from a household where moving furniture around was a monthly occurrence, then you understand why it is a GOOD thing. And if not...let me tell you why it IS! 1. It makes you feel like you've moved, without all the pain, stress and packing. Liam even proved this point tonight when he walked into his room and said (with joy, might I add), "Is this even my room? What did you do with my other room?" 2. It gives you a good reason to clean behind those dressers and beds that normally don't get touched with a vacuum. I don't know about you, but I don't pull my dresser away from the wall to vacuum behind it every week. No. I also was able to wash the grease stained wall beside the bed, which is only seen if you're laying in the bed and therefore missed. 3. In the process, you find so many things that you thought were gone forever. The picture that slid behind the bed, the lego piece that you needed to finish that special model. You get the idea. 4. It is good exercise. Moving 200 books out of a bookshelf and back into it later, while moving the beds, dressers, etc. and vacuuming/dusting/washing can all bring you a nice healthy sweat. 5. It gives you a new outlook. Having your bed closer to the wall or the window, or in a completely different direction, gives you the opportunity to see things that you never had seen before! 6. It keeps life interesting. I find houses can get boring, and especially boring to clean if things are always in the same position. Fumbling around in your bedroom the first few weeks after you change it up, and even tripping over the bed makes life more exciting! 7. It helps you to find the perfect position/place for things. How do you really know the first time that you move into a place, if the bed should really be on the right wall or the left wall? Maybe it was meant to be on the back wall? Who really knows unless you move it around. 8. Like moving, it helps you to sort through everything and decide if things are really where they should be. Or are they even necessary for that room at all? Many things get taken up to the bedrooms that don't really belong there. They can be put back in the game shelf or the boot room, and the room becomes less cluttered, as it should be. 9. If you want to really mix it up, it can give you a chance to put different children together and establish space (when needed), or togetherness (as needed). When I was growing up, I shared with my brother for awhile, then with my sister, then had my own room for awhile, and each experience was really a good thing. 10. And lastly...it brings life back to a room that was previously old. It now looks new, exciting and clean. It has changed, and therefore so have you! Some rooms are really hard to rearrange. I have a long skinny living room, and I have yet to find an alternate way to arrange it. I have done small things like move in and out small tables, the Christmas tree, instruments and decorations though. I also try to change my family photos, and I'm adding party decorations to my ceiling fan every month! I moved my queen bed around when I was renovating my room, but Greg didn't like it much, and it really does look best on the one wall, so we're kinda stuck with it there. I still change the dressers/bookshelves/decor around to make it interesting for myself! I would love to rearrange my family room, but it has a three doors and a wood stove in it, so it is very limiting. If I had the money, I'd take out the sliding door and put in a window, and remove the wood stove completely...but renovations...that's a whole other post for another day.